The Trio
by BensonsFaerieWings
Summary: Liv has gotten herself into a predicament. Will she learn more about herself or just go along for the ride?
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: I own nothing - just a little fun to cure some Hurricane Boredom. It's a little crackfic, that I will likely finish up later on. Let me know if I should bother.

She was headed down a dangerous path. She had never been on this path before and she knew that there was trouble waiting in the wings. Something in her being just wanted to walk down the path a bit longer and see where it took her. She was experimenting with life in ways that she had never had before. She was frequently putting life before the job, for the first time in her life ever, and she was determined to take some time to enjoy whatever this road had in store for her. At least, that was what she kept telling herself because it sounded better than she just did not want to make a choice. She did not want to have to examine her feelings that closely, she just wanted to have fun and be carefree. Most people went through this phase in their 20's, Olivia was in her 40's. It was inappropriate in more ways than even she could count, but yet she kept going. Fin had told her she was being self-destructive, and if she looked at it properly, she would realize that he was quite right. But instead she just laughed him off.

Her phone trilled with her text message tone dragging her back to the present. She was sitting in a car with Fin on the corner of 59th and 10th waiting for their perp to emerge from the apartment building he had run into.

"Uhoh, a member of the trio is headed for heartbreak." Finn joked with her.

She slapped his arm. "And how would you know that?"

"Because you are stuck here with me til he emerges and they can't get their taste."

She laughed. "Their taste?" She questioned as she typed her reply.

"Yea, you are like some kinda freak drug to all of them. What are you like really good in bed or something?"

She sipped her coffee and replied, "Well wouldn't you just like to know?"

He turned and looked at her like she was crazy. "And get involved in all that mess?! Aww hell no. You can't even decide which side of the spectrum you want to play on, Liv."

She shrugged. "I know it's a mess. But it's kind of a fun mess."

"You say that because the shit has not hit the fan yet."

" Yea I know." She sighed and looked out the window. She knew that a decision had to be made soon, but she really liked the time she spent with each of them. Each one of them provided her with something that she had not known she had needed until they started dating.

Fin looked at his partner and knew that she understood that her actions were wrong, but he also saw that she legitimately had no idea of what to do in the situation. She was dating three very different people, who all completely adored her, and it had been a rare occurrence that she could find even one person to make it past the first date. He knew that she loved the attention and the diversion it brought from the work they did. She actually had a life for once, and he really did not want to see her lose it all at once. "Listen, Liv, I am not judging you. I just want to make sure you don't get hurt – well emotionally because I have seen you walking a little rough after a few mornings." He said chuckling as she threw a piece of paper at him.

"Really, Finn! Thank you though. They each bring such different qualities to the table. Hell how can I get myself out of this situation, if I don't even know how I got myself into the situation."

_Three Months Prior_

As she sat by his hospital bed, she reminded him that she was not the same person that she once was years ago.

Brian Cassidy looked back at her and said, "Yes you are."

She responded with "No I am not." Followed by a sweet kiss. It was a kiss that was more than a decade in the making, and it was everything that she had expected it to be. She had walked away from him at a time when she was too busy focusing on her career and the victims, to even consider the thought that she should have a life outside of her work. As the years had progressed, she had been resigned to having no life, to being angry that she had no life, to fighting like hell to find a life outside of her work and being ever more tired. When she had kissed him, it felt like she had come home. That she had found that bad boy she craved with a touch of someone who knew her better than most. He had known her back then, and he knew her now too, granted not as well, but he still knew her. She had laid her head on his chest and fallen asleep without even knowing that it had happened. She rarely ever relaxed enough to fall asleep these days. Sleep only came when she was so exhausted that she fell as soon as she sat down or when she helped it come through the use of a good glass of wine or an Ambien.

They had progressed along in a semi-relationship. They had gone on a few dates and had more than a few dates in between the sheets. It had fallen into a kind of comfortable routine, but they had never expressed an definition of their relationship. As far as she was concerned, they were just two consenting adults using each other to relax at the end of a rough day. She figured that it was more than it had been previously for Brian, but she was still unsure of if he was more for her. And she was not particularly in a rush to find out.

A few weeks after she had gotten involved with Brian, she had received a call from Bayard Ellis. He had not spoken to her in sometime, since he had found out that she had been involved with David Hayden. She thought that she had broken Ellis' heart, but apparently it had healed. He had called her to ask her to coffee after he had returned from an extended business trip in California.

She had met him in a coffee bar on the Upper West Side. She had worn a red dress that she had just bought recently along with a pair of very tall and sexy stiletto heels. She had adorned it with a gorgeous gold necklace and matching dangle earrings. She had not really meant to dress for success, she had just wanted to look amazing for one night. She had wanted to hide the tired that she knew was prevalent on her face.

He had walked up to her wearing his usual suit, but with a huge grin on his face. They did the usual hug and kiss on the cheek that old friends did before sitting down to have their coffee.

"Olivia, you look amazing. I guess the scandal with your Captain has not phased you?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Bayard, you are too flattering. It has been a challenge for him and for us, but we are working through it." She gave him the softened truth of the reality that was her workplace on a daily basis.

"Olivia, take that guard down. You know you can be straight with me." He said calmly covering her hand with his own.

With that she had taken a huge sigh and went through the whole case. Brian getting shot, the Captain being charged and then not charged, and the scrutiny that was being placed on the squad now. She looked at him and ended her story with, "Remember when I said I was tired, well I am even more tired now."

"Well then I think that we should take you out to dinner and then help you get some rest."

From the coffee shop, they had grabbed dinner at a local Italian bistro. It had been quiet and romantic and a beautiful evening. They had ended their evening at his apartment, with her red dress on the floor in a pile as she had fallen into his bed. The sex had been amazing and the sleep had been dream worthy. She had managed to wake up rejuvenated and eager to spend more time with him, that was until she had looked at her phone and found several missed calls and texts from Brian.

She had managed to ease Brian's mind with the thought that she had passed out in the cribs and that her phone had been charging at her desk. He seemed to take the story with stride and moved on. This was her first sign that she might be getting into some trouble. However, she ignored the signs and went on to spend the day with Bayard and his daughter. She had had an amazing time and had forgotten totally about the world that she was normally part of. It had been the start of a number of similar daytime dates. Bayard had become her escape, just as he had offered to be not long before.

The third spoke in the wheel came after a particularly hard case not long after she had started also dating Bayard. The squad had gone to a local bar and their ADA, Alex Cabot, had come along to unwind. The liquor had been flowing and everyone's guard had come down as they sat around discussing how the case had affected them. Once they had all decided it was time to have some fun, the jokes and the flirtations had begun to fly across the table. Fin and Munch had sat back and watched the show as Amaro and Amanda practically dared the other to show their goods at the table. Meanwhile, Alex had been whispering some serious flirtations in Olivia's ear. The hot breath of the equally hot ADA had made her body begin to churn in ways that she would have never expected from a woman. She had never really identified herself as bisexual, but she had never really been opposed to exploring a relationship with a woman, the opportunity had just never presented itself until that night.

After a few hours of Alex breathing into her ear, she was about as stimulated as she could stand being before she exploded right there in the bar. So she had suggested that they sneak out and continue their conversation at Alex's place, as it was closer. They had barely made into her apartment before they were all over one another. Olivia followed Alex's lead and allowed herself to be controlled, something that never happened whenever she was with Bayard or Brian. Alex had kissed her with more passion than she had ever experienced with another man. She had brought Olivia to orgasm more times than she could count, and it had been mindblowing every time. It had been a surreal experience that she did not know how to explain when she awoke in the morning. Wrapped in Alex's arms in bed, she felt both relaxed and excited at the same time. And then her phone had gone off with messages from both Bayard and Brian.

She had made some excuses for all of them and had Alex's apartment in a state of confusion. She had planned to blow it off as a one-time thing, but then she had received some very erotic text messages throughout the week from Alex. Finally, they had meshed their schedules and had met up for a very intense evening where they were both stone cold sober.

Olivia had dealt with her situation on her own for about 2 months before she finally had to talk to someone about it. Fin was the lucky person to get the lowdown as they were on a stakeout. She had not planned on talking about it but she had gotten frustrated when she could not get Brian off her ass about going on a date that Friday night when she had already made plans with Alex, plans she was not really interested in cancelling. Her body had craved excitement these days and not so much comfort, especially when it came to getting her frustrations out of her system. Brian's idea of working off frustration was hitting the gym, Alex's idea was hitting the sex hardcore. Olivia was down for the latter more so than the gym. So when she had gotten his whining text about how she was never available on Friday nights anymore she had thrown the phone across the car, causing Fin to take notice.

"What's up?" He asked as he picked up her phone from the floor by his feet and handed it back to her.

"Just frustrated that people will not take no for an answer." She grumbled.

"Want to talk about it? Maybe I can give you a new approach?"

"If I tell you, it's just between us and you have to promise not to judge me." Liv extended her hand for a handshake on the deal.

Fin shook her hand and said "Always for you, Liv."

"Well I kind of got myself into a bit of a situation. I am kind of dating three people at the moment."

"Say what?! How on earth did that happen?"

"Gee thanks! What am I not hot enough for that to possibly happen?" She scoffed.

"Dude that's not what I am saying!" He said looking offended that she would think he thought that of her. "I meant of all the people I know, you are the last person I would see in that situation just because of who you are as a person. I am not judging, but how on earth did you get in this mess."

She proceeded to tell him the course of events that had gone down leading up to her dating three different people. She had avoided names during the process hoping to keep that part silent, but he was too smart for her own good.

"Liv, so who are they?"

"Brian, Bayard and Alex."

"Whoa! Alex as in Alexandra Cabot?" He looked at her with a smirk.

"Yes." She said rolling her eyes at him.

"Damn girl! She's hot! Good for you! I don't know what you see in those other two, but I can understand Alex." He said laughing.

She punched his arm lightly. "Well now I need to get myself out of this mess. That's where you come in, Yoda!"

"Well, Liv, you know you need to make the choice. Who is it that you want most in your life?"

Their conversation had been cut short when they saw their witness on the street and had gone after him. Ever since then Fin had been her confidant about the situation, as well as attempting to alleviate her stress by sending jokes her way every so often. They had grown to have a very comfortable repertoire about the whole thing, but it did not make the situation any better.

_Back to Present Day_

Fin bored with the silence woke his partner from her thoughts. "So who is in the top running now?"

"Ugh! It's not like I keep a running tally board or something." She grumbled.

"Alright then let's see if we can get you a decision. Tell me what you think of each of the relationships these days."

"Alex is hot and exciting. It's what I am looking for these days. A lot of fun, a lot of experimentation and just a romping good time. No serious commitment, as far as I know just some really good passion." She said frankly.

"Alright, so that's Alex. She's a bit plaything. I get it. But that's also you sticking with your whole non-commitment thing."

"She has not asked for commitment, so how can that be a factor?"

"Because you noted the lack of seriousness to the relationship. You like it because at the moment it appears to be a game on both sides of the fence."

"Alright note taken. Brian is comfort and being able to explore something I let pass me by. But the comfort is almost annoying at times. Bayard is my escape. I spend time with him and it's like SVU does not exist. I am Olivia Benson the person with him. At times, he almost seems to be too comfortable at times as well."

"Well it looks like the boys need to amp up their game a bit. Maybe your problem is that the boys are boring to you and Alex is all kinds of exciting, but the boys offer a longevity that Alex does not. Hell she barely sticks around as our ADA for long, would a relationship with her ever really work?"

"That's a good question. But how do I convince the boys to amp up their game the way I want?"

"I think that you can figure that out, but let's just leave it at – get creative, Liv."


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Thank you everyone who read this first part of this. I originally had only intended for it to be a little one or two shot – but now I feel like it needs a little fleshing out… I am not quite sure where it's going though so I hope that you can hang in there for it. And I can assure you, I am writing our dear Liv a little outside of her normal box – but I call that just giving her a little fun! (And it's my small play on all the people who were calling her a slut after she kissed Cassidy! What would they think now?) Onto the story._

Liv awoke and looked around trying to remember where she had spent the night. A look to her left answered the question quickly, as she saw the mess of clothes that permanently hid the chair in Brian's bedroom. She sat up slowly, her head still pounding from the drinks she had had at the bar the night before. She was not sure if she was getting drunk to be able to enjoy spending time with Brian or if she was really just out to have a good time. _Well at least the sex was good_, she thought to herself. She was about to get out of bed and head into the bathroom for a shower when she heard music blasting its way into the bedroom.

She listened to the lyrics for a second and groaned inwardly as Brian came down the hall towards the bedroom. The lyrics were from Jim Brickman's new song _Good Morning Beautiful_. The lyrics were

Good morning beautiful  
I know it's gonna be a good morning beautiful  
When you're waking up with me  
It's gonna be a good morning beautiful

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and flopped back on the pillow. She really needed to get this situation straightened out. She figured that she could help Brian to be more of the bad boy she really wanted in the bedroom, as long as she could stomach these occasional syrupy sweet moments.

He interrupted her thoughts by singing along with the song as he came into the room. She opened her eyes back up and smiled into his face as he presented her with a tray full of breakfast. Not being a morning person, she tried hard to not gag at the sight of so much food so early in the morning. She reached for him and gave him a quick kiss before grabbing the coffee.

"Morning. What is all this?" She asked as she sat up on the side of the bed and started drinking her coffee.

"Just a nice surprise for the beautiful lady in my bed before she runs off to save the world." He said leaning in to give her another kiss.

"Oh shit! What time is it?" She scrambled out of the bed hoping that she had not overslept. Cragen would have her ass if she was late again this week. A few nights with Alex had left her alarm unset more than once during the week.

"Calm down hun. It's only 6:30. You don't have to be in until 7 right? Have some breakfast." He said trying to stay out of her way as she scrounged around for her clothes.

"I have to get home and change first." She almost followed it with _I ran out of my backup clothes at work when I overslept at Alex's all week long, _but thankfully caught herself before she ended up in that mess. "Listen, Brian, last night was awesome, but I have to run. Text me and we will catch up. Stay safe."

She grabbed her bag, a piece of fruit and a last swig of coffee before she flew to the front door. She ran back and gave him a kiss goodbye not wanting to be impolite.

As she hopped into the cab to her apartment, she scrolled down to Fin's number and typed out a text.

"We need to talk."

As she walked into the precinct a half an hour later, she was met at her desk by Fin and a steaming cup of her favorite brew.

"Oh coffee! Thank goodness!" She said grabbing the coffee and chugging about half of it before realizing that she was burning her mouth.

"That bad, huh?" He said with a twinkle in his eye, suppressing the laughter that was threatening to come out.

"Oh you have no idea. What cases do we have?" She asked looking to the white board to see what they were working this morning.

"The case of the paperwork catch up. Cragen's on our asses for the DD5's that have been slipping through the cracks lately."

She sighed, knowing that she had a pile that needed to be completed. She hated paperwork days. "Good then later we can catch you up on my morning."

"I feel like someone is in the doghouse this morning." He said laughing as he walked away.

"You have no idea."

As she trudged through the pile of paperwork on her desk, she tried to ignore her phone which was lighting up with text messages like crazy. She wanted to be focused and get through the paperwork so that she could get back to the real work. But when Fin's face popped up, she took a break.

"So, baby girl, you bout done? Cuz I am bout cross-eyed and completely out of coffee."

She looked across the squad room and saw him winking at her. She just shook her head and laughed.

"One more to finish up, then I will be set. Coffee sounds epic right now, along with something to eat, I am starving." She typed back.

"Deal."

They walked out of the squad room about an hour later, since Fin had a few more than her to finish up before they went to lunch. As they exited the building, Liv took a deep breath and exhaled before she looked at him and said, "You will never believe what he did this morning!"

"Which he? You have two remember."

"Brian."

"When did I become your girlfriend?"

"When I started fucking my girlfriend." She said laughing.

"Point taken. So what did he do?"

She scrolled on her phone a minute, pulling the song up on YouTube. "He played this and made me breakfast." She said handing him her phone. "In bed at 6:30 a.m.! Who eats that early?" She exclaimed.

"Oh man, he's got it bad!" Fin chuckled as he handed her back her phone.

"What is that?!" She growled.

"Love baby. That's love. That boy loves you!"

"He has always been so mushy. What is that about?! I don't do mushy!"

Fin laughed. "I can tell. He's addicted to the Olivia drug. What can I say?"

"He needs to go to rehab. That shit was creepy."

Fin damn near fell over laughing. "Liv, it's not creepy. He is just showing you the only way that he knows how. Clearly, he has not learned that loving you means rough sex."

Liv started laughing as she swatted his arm. "Man, you are rough!"

"Uhoh I better get sappy or else you might try to add this to the mix." He said gesturing to his own physique.

"But then who would I talk to about my problems?" She pouted at him for two seconds before she started laughing again.

Fin continued to laugh harder. "You would be stuck with Munch. Amaro has got his own issues and Rollins is in love with you so she would be bias."

"Munch? Really? Dude has had more marriages than I have had leather jackets!"

"Well then he would just tell ya, 'Liv, its just easier to leave 'em.'"

"Jerk! Seriously, Fin how do I get him to quit this sappy shit."

"I told you, you need to get creative. I am sure you get plenty creative with Alex. Why not channel that into the men?"

She smiled thinking about Alex. Boy did they get creative, and it was really good. But when Brian was on his game, he was really good too. And Bayard was so caring and sweet.

"Yo, Liv! Where did you go? We have to get back. Cragen has a case."

"Just thinking. What about sexting? Think that could get him riled up?" She asked earnestly.

"Yea as long as they don't go viral. Then you might become an extra special victim." Fin said laughing.

"Jesus they better not. I think that Brian can handle it, but Bayard is just too proper. I think it would freak him out."

"You look like you might have made up your mind about Bayard?" Fin inquired seriously. He loved seeing Liv happy, but really wanted her to invest fully in a relationship. That was not possible until she committed to just one person.

Liv sighed. "Yea, I think so. He's such an amazing guy and a really good friend, but I think that's where the connection ends. I am sure he must feel it too."

"Guess you will find out. When are planning to drop the bomb?"

"I asked him for coffee tomorrow morning before work."

"Well let's see if you are going to make that date." He said as they walked back into the squad room to face the newest case that they would be working on. All the laughter between the two of them subsided as they focused on the task at hand. An outsider looking in would think that it was two entirely different people who stepped onto the scene when they were in that squad compared to how they had been outside. It was what made them the professionals that they were, and how they survived the work they did.

_Authors Note: I realized while writing this, I really love the idea of her and Bayard, but I really do think that he provides her with a place to just be Olivia, not Detective. And he gives her a place to vent, and to escape into a world where there is no SVU. However these qualities make an amazing friendship, but not a passionate relationship. I guess Alex and Brian are going to battle it out. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note:_ _Well you are still here, that's pretty cool. I apologize if there are multiple typos, etc in this story as I actually do not have anyone beta-ing this story as I go. But thank you for putting up with that and still reading. I hope to have it wrapped up soon, I think._

Olivia walked into the coffee shop and spotted Bayard sitting in the corner booth. She smiled and waved at him as she stepped up to the line to order her coffee, but saw him hold up a cup in her direction. She took a deep breath and made her way over to the booth, her stomach churning with the nerves that were built up inside her. She had not slept a wink the night before. She adored Bayard and truly loved having him as a friend, and she hoped that her bad judgment would not cause her to lose this friendship. At this point in her life, she needed as many true friends as she could get.

She leaned across the booth and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat.

"Café Mocha as you like it darlin'" He said sliding the cup across the table to her.

"Thanks." She said taking a sip as she stalled, not really knowing how to start this conversation. Normally, she was just abrupt and walked away, but since she wanted to maintain a friendship, she wanted to be sure she treaded carefully.

"How are things at the 1-6? Busy?" He inquired quietly.

"It appears that rape is on the rise again these days, now that the prostitution ring thing has cleared up. We are still working under a microscope, but I guess that is helping us to be better cops these days." She said with a nervous chuckle and a hint of sarcasm.

"You have always been a good cop, Olivia, that was never a problem." He put his hand on hers.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the kind gesture, she took her hand away and scratched her nose and put her hair up, not wanting to appear as though she was shying away from his touch. "Well, when you are at the defense table, it does not always look that way." She winked at him.

"Just doing a job, Olivia. Now let's not mix business with pleasure, what brought you uptown today?" He could read that she was uncomfortable, but he could not read as to what was causing her discomfort.

"Bayard, I have spent the last couple of days thinking about us, and I really value our friendship…" She paused to take a breath, avoiding his eyes so that she would not have to face the hurt that she knew was there. She was no longer in her mid-20's and immune to the hurt in a dismissed man's eyes. "But I just don't think that it should go beyond that." She finally looked up and saw everything that she had dreaded seeing.

Bayard's face was a strange combination of hurt, disappointment and slight anger. "You met me in a coffeehouse to discuss this, rather than coming to my home? What would make you think that a public place was better than the privacy of my home?" He hissed at her.

"I did not want to do this where your daughter would possibly witness it. I respect you both too much." She hissed back.

"What made you come to this conclusion?" He asked with a somewhat more dignified tone, as the thought of her respect for his daughter calmed him.

"I am not compatible with you in that respect, Bayard. We are great friends and we can enjoy a great night out, but the couple version of us, just does not feel right to me." She was trying to skirt the issue because she did not want to make him feel uncomfortable by saying he was too tame for her in the sack. Not to mention the fact that it even made her sound like a slut in her own head.

"Not compatible? What kind of excuse is that, Olivia? Is it someone else?" He attempted to pull the truth from her.

She had to think of how she was going to answer this because she was not really leaving him for someone else; she was just choosing the others in place of him. "No, it is not for someone else. I just merely have different thought processes about certain things than you do and I value our friendship too much to possibly allow those thought processes to interfere in our friendship."

The coffeehouse was starting to buzz with the morning commuters, making the conversation difficult to continue.

"Let's walk in the park and finish this conversation, Liv. Do you mind?" He asked holding out his hand to help her out of the booth.

She nodded in agreement and followed him out of the café, but did not take his hand. She did not want to confuse matters any more than they already were.

They found a quiet area to walk in and Bayard started the conversation back up. "What makes you think that I would not be willing to work with you in regards to these thought processes?"

She suppressed a laugh, as she did not want to offend him, but the thought of Bayard attempting to participate in rough sex, was just an impossible image in her head. "Because it is not in your nature, Bayard."

"What makes you think that I cannot make it part of my nature?"

She realized that she was going to have to get more specific or they were going to end up in a constant round robin of 20 questions. She gestured towards the closest bench without anyone else around and followed as he took a seat on it. She turned and looked him straight in the eyes. "Because outside of the courtroom, you are truly the kindest, sweetest and most gentle person I have ever known. In fact, it's those qualities that make me treasure our friendship so much. You care about people deeply, and you know how to care for them when they are down. You are my escape, as you once called it, and I will give anything to keep that. However, sometimes that is not what I need in my life."

"So because I am gentle, I am not good enough to be your lover? What?!" He was genuinely confused.

She took a deep breath and knew it was now or never. "Yes. The long and short of it is that I am not calm in the bedroom. You are. It's not a flaw."

"That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Really, Olivia?" He spat out disgusted. He started pacing in front of their bench.

She got up and stopped in front of him, putting her hands on his arms. "Bayard, I am sorry. It is absolutely not a reflection of who you are as a man. It's more of a reflection of who I am as a woman and how I deal with things."

"That hurts, Olivia. What could possibly be so bad that you would rather walk away from a good relationship, rather than simply discuss the topic at hand?"

She took a deep breath in and spoke slowly and quietly. "Because it was easier for you to know me as Olivia Benson, the dignified and demure, rather than the hot mess of a Detective who uses rough sex to get the demons in her head out at the end of the day. I use sex as a coping mechanism, Bayard. For me it's never about making love, never has been. And there is a clear difference." She looked into his eyes and saw them cloud, with what emotion she was unsure, but she was ready for whatever assault would be brought to her.

"This is absurd, but I will not stop you. I want you to be happy more than anything, whether it's with me or not." He grabbed her arms back and forced her to look into his eyes. "But know this, I would do anything for you, and you should have taken the time to speak to me about this before deciding."

"Bayard…" She really did not know what else to say to him, so she just left it at that.

"You need to get to work, as do I." He grabbed her and gave her a hug. "Take care of yourself, Liv."

He released the hug and walked away from her. She just sank onto the bench and just watched his form retreat from her. She did not know how things stood between them and that hurt more than the breakup did. _What the hell have I done? _She thought to herself.

She walked into the squad room a few minutes later and Fin immediately knew that anyone in her path was in trouble today. He walked into the Captain's office, hoping to squelch some of the drama.

"Hey, Capt. Do you mind if Liv & I run cases together today?" Fin asked nonchalantly.

"Why?" He asked barely looking up from the paperwork he was reviewing.

"Just thinking that Amaro and her could do with some time apart." He said knowing that it was a lame excuse since he and Liv had been working a number of stakeouts in the past few weeks.

"Yea, sure. Just don't make a habit out of requesting partners, deal?" He asked looking up. He knew his detectives well enough to know that when Fin was asking it was because it was trying to help a situation not hinder it.

"You got it, Capt."

"Yo, Liv, we catching today. You ready to hit the streets?" He asked walking into the squad room.

"Yea I just need to grab something, meet you by the elevators?" She said grabbing her bag and heading to the vending machine for a granola bar. The last thing she needed was to be a bitch because of low blood sugar and a shitty morning. She plugged her money in and then the damn thing would not spit out her granola bar. "You have got to be kidding me!" She griped as she shoved the machine and banged her head against it. She really was just not in the mood today.

Fin caught the scene as he walked around the corner. He knew it was going to be a long day if she was already punching the vending machine. And they had a nasty pedophile to hunt. He shook his head and walked up to her. "Alright, Liv, don't beat the machine. I got breakfast. Let's go kick a perp's ass." He smiled at her, hoping that she would cheer up a little bit.

"Fine. But it better be a damn good breakfast or the perp won't have an ass when I am done." She said spinning on her heel towards the elevator. She tried to elevate her mood as they rode the elevator down.

Fin let her calm down during the ride down and figured that he would broach the subject with her once they got into the sedan. He was fairly certain that he remembered her saying that she would be meeting with Bayard before work, and he could only assume that it was the cause for her bad mood.

She huffed as she sat in the car. They sat in silence until he handed her a coffee and breakfast sandwich outside of her favorite deli. She took a few bites and sips, beginning the process of feeling a bit more human.

Once she had food and drink, Fin figured that it would be safe to ask her what was going on. "So, Liv, ya just pissed cuz you missed breakfast?"

"No." She replied simply.

_Oh boy. _He thought. "Alright, so who woke you up before your alarm?" He said hoping that it would not annoy her.

"To wake up, one needs to have slept, Fin." She answered curtly.

"Alright, not playing the bitch game today, Liv. Want me to bring you back and you can fight with Amaro all day, or you can talk to me?" He said frankly. It was how they were. They never really played the games, they would get into a tiff and shut it down quick. He didn't do drama and if she brought it, he would squelch it with the quickness, she didn't always like him for it but it's how it was.

She growled, but after a few minutes answered him. "Shit got real this morning with Bayard."

"And did you expect it to not get real?"

"Nah. I knew it was going to be rough, I just didn't think that I would have to put all my cards on the table." She sighed.

"Well, he's a no BS kinda guy. He wants the truth and the whole damn truth. So I gather he did not take kindly to you cutting off his supply of the Liv-Drug?" He joked with her trying to get her to perk up, as they were not far from the perp's house.

"I think he was beyond the drug stage and into the love-marriage-commitment stage." She looked at him with pleading eyes and then finished her thought. "He made me tell him EVERYTHING!"

"What's everything, Liv?"

"He made me tell him why I felt we were not compatible."

"I cannot wait to hear this. What did you say to him?"

"Well I tried to leave it at that we just were not compatible. But he wanted an explanation. So I had to tell him that he was too vanilla for my liking." She groaned.

Fin burst out laughing. "Whoa shit did get real, dude! That's rough." She glared at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I just thought that you might have found another excuse to give him."

"Nah, I went for the straight truth."

"So what did he say."

"Basically that he felt that I was immature for not talking to him about it first. But honestly, Fin, there's no way he would be anything but vanilla in the sack. And that's never been my cup of tea."

"Hell in SVU, I don't think it's anyone's cup of tea. It's like we all make it rough to make it real."

"To fight away the demons in our head."

Fin pulled over in front of a house in the Bronx. "Speaking of demons, ready to nab a live one?"

"Sure thing. What do we have today?" She asked checking her gun, badge and cuffs as she grabbed her jacket.

"Stepfather molesting teenaged daughter for 10 years. We have video, text, pics, the whole nine. We are just here to bring him in."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fucker. Let's go."

Fin took a deep breath and prayed that she did not kill the guy between the house and the car. He had seen her in one of these moods before and he knew she had kicked the shit out of a guy cuffed to a table one day. Hopefully, it would be a quiet arrest.

Needless to say after a few word battles the guy had come out, but he had talked shit the whole way back to the 1-6. When they had gotten back, Liv had thrown the guy into the interrogation room and gone to her computer to get the forms started. That's when she had seen the photos of what he had done to his stepdaughter, and then hell had broken lose. Fin had been in the bathroom, but according to Rollins she had flipped her chair and torn across the squad room to the interrogation room and gone at the guy. The captain had gotten to her before she could damage their case, but not before the perp had called her a crazy bitch. That had her blood boiling and she had gotten into it with the Captain. He had tried to send her home for the day, but Fin had motioned to him not to. He knew that it would not be healthy if she had gone home. That would have just led to a drunken binge.

Munch and Rollins had managed to get the guy to confess to everything after showing him the proof that they had had. The interrogation had been ugly, as Fin listened in, but he had managed to get Liv to cool her jets and work with the victim to get her statement. The case had come out a slam dunk and they were all in the mood to celebrate at the end of the day. Well, Liv might have been more in the mood to just blow off steam, but that's just because she was still stewing over the events of the morning.

"Hey guys, want to hit up The Scorpion?" Fin yelled across the squad room.

"Hell yea," said Alexandra Cabot as she walked into their squad room. She landed a high five with Fin. "Sounds Epic. When?"

"Tonight in about an hour? Think you can find something appropriate?" He joked with her gesturing to her million dollar suit.

"Yea, I do own other clothes, Fin!" She swatted at him. She scanned the room looking for Liv, but did not see her. "Who else is going?"

"The whole crew I think, even Munch!"

"Alright, Liv too?" She inquired quietly.

"Yes, I will drag her if I have to. Chick needs some alcohol, if you know what I mean."

"Oh? Bad day?" She asked concerned.

"Yea, just one of them days. But we will cheer her up." Fin said winking at her to stop the line of questioning, he did not want to betray Liv's trust. She nodded back at him and headed out of the squad room to go get changed at home.

A few hours later, it was like the day had not even happened. If you were a bystander, you would have thought that the group of them was just a normal group of friends out for a good time, not a bunch of cops and DA's trying to forget the demons they dealt with every day. A lot of alcohol had flowed on a consistent basis and everyone was experiencing a decent buzz, well except the Captain and Munch who were watching out for their crew. Fin had also managed to stay fairly sober, despite Liv buying him shots left and right. He was determined to keep his eye on her because for every one shot he had, she had thrown back two or three. He wanted to make sure that she did not do anything that she would regret in the morning.

Currently he was watching Alex and her dance rather provocatively on the dance floor, bumping and grinding in their tight jeans, low cut shirts and stilettos. Liv was holding tight to the drink in her hand as she held a hand low on Alex's waist keeping their bodies in close contact. It was quite the show and it was even causing some unusual stirrings in his pants. He turned to grab a beer from the table and take a swig to cool him down when he saw Cassidy walk through the door of the bar.

Knowing the history between him and Amaro, as well as his involvement with Liv, he looked at Munch. "Did you invite him?"

"Oh yea, saw him as I was leaving. He asked bout Liv, told him to come down." Munch said innocently.

"Fuck." He looked from the door back to the dance floor trying to figure out what to do. He knew there was only one way to make this smooth over if possible.

He walked up behind Liv and followed her rhythm to the music. He grabbed her waist and leaned in close to her ears.

"It's me." He said first so she didn't punch him out. "Listen carefully. You are about to clue Cassidy in to your thing for Alex." She started to stop dead but he kept moving behind her. "Just keep dancing, it will look like it's the three of us getting busy on the floor. Ready for the show?"

She looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. He went around to the front of Alex and turned her around so that she forced Liv to turn around and then Liv came face to face with a wide-eyed, slack-mouthed Cassidy.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Things are heating up, so please heed the M rating on this story. Thank you. _

Alex was the one to break the silence as she squeaked out, "Looks like Cassidy is enjoying the show." She laughed. "Excuse me darlings, this girl needs to go pee."

This allowed the space between Liv and Fin to be closed up. He decided that he would have a little fun with Cassidy, as well as helping Liv with her situation. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Well if he is just going to stand there and watch, let's give him a show." He had been to a club with Olivia before and knew that she could really hold her own on the dance floor.

She spun around and quickly downed the rest of her drink, setting the glass down on a nearby table. She positioned herself in front of Fin face to face, and slid her hand around his neck. Her hips started to sway causing an influx of friction for both of them. Fin inhaled a quick breath before he whispered, "You aren't careful, you are going to end up adding me to that hot mess." She laughed full force, her head falling back as she replied slyly, "Maybe that's just what I need."

They continued to dance for a number of songs, and it was like the world had melted all around them. The rest of the squad merely looked on as if they were watching a show, but it was just two of their good friends enjoying each other's company, at least to the outside audience. To Olivia and Fin, it was the ultimate culmination of years of intense friendship, and a curiosity of where things might go. A testing of the boundaries if you may. What their audience could not hear was the intense conversation going on between the two of them.

"So, Liv, you up for quiet and calm, or fighting some demons tonight?" Fin whispered as he nibbled her ear.

"If you don't know the answer to that question, then you have not been listening to our conversations lately." She replied with hitched breath.

"Well then I guess you aren't going home with Cassidy, so maybe it's Alex who gets lucky tonight."

Olivia bit her lip and slowly shook her head no. "Nah, that girl had too much. As soon as her head hits anything flat, she will be passed out cold. Looks like I am going to have to find alternative means of entertainment."

"Hmm, might have to do something about that."

"If we don't stop this show soon, it's going to become NC-17, and I don't want Cragen having a heart attack."

"Saying you are interested?" Fin asked leaning back to look her directly in the eyes. He could see the lust filling up her orbs, and was pretty sure that she would be able to see the same reflected in his own. "Cuz I am."

"I am not uninterested. But I do need to deal with that." She said gesturing towards Cassidy and Alex.

"Then let's get a drink and we will see how the evening progresses, but I am certain that you will exorcise your demons if you give me a chance."

The sound of his voice in her ears was making her legs turn to jelly with an immense and unexpected desire. "Oh that sounds like a challenge sir." She said winking at him, trying not to show how incredibly turned on she was.

"Welcome the challenge." He said leading her off the dance floor with his hand on the small of her back.

As they approached the crowd, Liv did not want to step away from Fin and lose his touch, but she knew it was inevitable. Before they separated, he took one last opportunity to whisper in her ear. "Whatcha drinking?"

She turned to him with a twinkle in her eye. "A blow job and a sex on the beach, of course. Along with a quick shot of whiskey."

He rolled his eyes at her and leaned in to say, "You better not get too drunk, you need to remember this tomorrow."

"Oh, hun, I won't forget."

She watched him walked towards the bar for a few minutes, inspecting the view, before turning back towards the crew. She sashayed up to Cassidy, and turned on the charm. "Well look what the cat dragged out." She purred to him.

"That was quite a show, Liv." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, that was no show, just some dancing. What brings you out?" She replied ignoring his tone. She hated the jealousy streak that he always seemed to be plagued with.

"I was invited by John, since you apparently failed to see the need to."

His tone was really getting on her nerves, and she was about to make a snappy comeback, when her phone vibrated in her backpocket.

Fin had sent her a text from the bar. "Hope this vibrates in just the right spot."

She giggled and responded, "Nah it missed the spot, hope that's not a common problem for you. ;)"

Her phone was barely back in her pocket before she got a reply. "Never an issue. I have substantial size to reach all the right spots."

She groaned internally and responded. "But can you hang with the rough and tumble. Don't do gentle."

"I would never waste a moment with gentle, I know your preferences. Think of feeling the cool wall on your bare back as I hold you against it slamming into you."

This time she groaned out loud, but thankfully only Alex caught it as Cassidy had been distracted by a conversation with Cragen and Munch. Alex leaned over and quietly spoke to her. "Thinking someone is getting under your skin tonight, Liv."

Guilt suddenly washed over Olivia as she looked into Alex's eyes. "I am sorry, Alex…" she began.

Alex held up her hand and said, "No worries, Liv. I would rock that too. A threesome would be spectacular." She winked at Olivia. "But I think that you should try out the merchandise first."

Olivia laughed and was intrigued by the idea of a threesome. The best of both worlds, a rough man and woman, made her insides churn. "Be careful what you wish for."

"I always speak my desires aloud in the hopes they will come to fruition."

Olivia about drooled at her comment, but recovered quickly. "Your wish is my command." She said sliding her hand up the thigh of Alex's jeans.

"You better not be starting without me." Fin said as he walked up with their tray of drinks. He handed everything out but the blow job shot. "Now it's been explained to me that this shot does not allow for the use of your hands, so Alex I think that you should hold her hands, while I hold the shot."

Olivia and Alex laughed as Alex pinned Olivia's hands behind her back, similar to how they would cuff a perp. Olivia bent over and grabbed the shot glass in her mouth and threw her head back, taking the shot without spilling a drop.

"I am a pro, baby." She proclaimed.

"Oh the dreams of man." Fin replied simply, not wanting to appear too obvious. Olivia winked back at him.

He shot her a text a few minutes later that said, "I think I am about ready to get out of here."

She replied. "Me too."

She looked at Alex and noted that she would be leaving with Fin. Alex asked her to hang on a moment as she went to go speak to Fin. She leaned over and whispered to him, "Have fun with her, she needs it. And I expect a report in the morning." She gave him a hug and walked back to her seat next to Rollins.

Olivia approached Cassidy carefully. She had tried to keep her distance so that he would not get the wrong idea either way, but she did not wish to be totally rude to him. She motioned to see if he would speak to her privately for a moment. Seeing that Olivia was handling her business, Fin motioned that he would be waiting outside for her, thus allowing her the privacy she needed at least from him.

"Hey, listen. I was not ignoring you; it was just a really bad day." Olivia began the conversation slowly, as she did not really know what she was going to say to him.

"Liv, you can talk to me about anything, good or bad." Cassidy said with that irritatingly sweet voice he used to try to placate her, but in reality it just annoyed her.

"I know, I just didn't want to bring it home tonight." She placed a hand on his cheek. "I wanted us both to have a good night."

"Well I can give you a good night at my house." He said flirting with her.

"Nah, not tonight, Brian. How about we get together for lunch tomorrow? I am going to need some good food to combat this hangover." She laughed.

He had a look of disappointment on his face, but nodded. "Sure, sounds great, Liv."

He kissed her and gave her a hug goodnight and they walked back to the crew. "Have fun, y'all. I am toast. See you tomorrow!" Liv said waving to everyone as she walked off.

As she got outside and met Fin, her phone buzzed.

Alex texted, "Don't worry about Cassidy, I will take care of him for you. Maybe I can teach him something."

_Author's Note: This chapter was probably the worst for out of character moments, but I also think that it sparked up the story a bit. So she loses one part of the Trio and potentially adds another. And how about that last line from Alex? Does she know more than she is leading on about their relationship? _


End file.
